The Power of Friends, Enemies, and Ranting
by allonsyalloso
Summary: Hey guys this is my attempt at a HP sequel. Practically none of the stuff in here is actually canon, but I had fun writing it even though it is absolutely abhorrent and sucks. I have actually taken many of my original ideas from this and started writing an original novel that's on fictionpress under allonsyallonso. Let me know what you think. Thanks!
1. Chapter 1

10

19 Years Later:

Chapter 1: Libra

I stood upon the ground of the new world I was now a part of, the scarlet steam engine puffing smoke into the sky, parents wishing their children goodbye. They were the ones I like watching the most; I never had parents or any type of family besides my brother and I was terribly curious. It was interesting – the parents waving their children goodbye, promising to write, handing owls up through the window. Some families stood out clearly in my mind, whether from fate or not I will never know. There was the blonde boy of my age, wearing a haughty expression equal to his father's; the green-eyed boy of the same age, hair almost as dark as Orphi's looking fearful, his father then crouching down to reassure him, the boy then looking calmer; the dark-curly-haired girl, standing off to the side with her parents, looking as awkward and confused as I did. It was strange to me, these different displays of family, so common to them and alien to me.

See, my twin brother and I were raised in an orphanage. We don't know anything about our parents or family; we could be orphans, unwanted, or abandoned for a reason. We were told that we were found on the steps of the orphanage with nothing more than a single blanket and a note written on it, "Twins – Orphiucus and Libra Erepto." We know nothing more; we don't even know our birthday, let alone which one is older. We know that we are about 11, based on about how old we were when we were found, but anything else is a mystery. We know no family or love other than ourselves; the orphanage took care of us but showed us no love. We had no friends; the other children either hated us or were afraid of the ones who hated us.

Yet we were not alone. Though we had no friends, no parents, we had each other. We were the best friends we could ever be to each other and we loved each other more than anything. We did everything together; no one could keep us apart. Even though we were not identical, we could feel when the other was hurting or excited. When the "accidents" (as the other kids spoke of them; I certainly didn't want to call them that) occurred, often times, magic exploded out of us at the same time.

We didn't know what we were until about a month ago, right around our eleventh "Found Day," as it was called for those of us who were abandoned and had no idea our true birthday. We knew something was…different…about us. Things happened that we weren't sure why. Like when Darren Mannings teased me about my gold eyes, saying I was a cat, how he could only mew for a week afterwards. And when Arlene Hicks taunted Orphiucus about how his name is all stiff and formal (something only I am allowed to do), somehow she ended up without a voice for a couple days. Everyone thought she had laryngitis, but we knew better. Laryngitis doesn't hit in about 5 seconds after you insult someone. There were other incidents too, like when Orphi tried to cut my hair because it was falling into my eyes, and I looked awful, with my hair all choppy in areas; it grew back apparently overnight. It was all long again, like nothing had ever happened; expect it never got in my eyes again. We have a pretty long list, with tow of us. Everyone thought we were mad. Even we were starting to think so. Until Professor Mathieson came to "collect" us, as she called it.

She told us that we were not mad, though some may still think we are (and of course, Orphi is always mad!). She told us that we had magic, that we were a witch and a wizard, that we were offered a place at a boarding school called Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Witchery. For a while, we thought that she was joking, or going to take us away to an asylum. But eventually we believed her. It helped when she took us to Diagon Alley. That will convince you. I kept remembering how the events unfolded, the incredulousness of it all, until…

"Libby? Earth to Libra? You still with us?" Yep that's my brother. He's so inconsiderate in his interruptions. But he doesn't realize it.

I jolted out of my reverie. "Wha…huh? Oh sorry, I kind of zoned out."

"That," he replied, "was obvious." His dark brown eyes, black at first look, bored into me, as though trying to see what I was thinking. With eyes almost black, hair the same color, and pale white skin, he looked a little like a boy vampire. Which he could have been, except for the fact that he was pretty squeamish about any of that stuff.

"Sorry, what did you say, Orphi?"

He glared at me. "I do wish you wouldn't call me that."

"Oh come on, you know you love it," I goaded him. Actually, it drove him mad, which is exactly why I call him that. "Would you rather be called 'Orphiucus'? That sounds way too stiff and formal; like you are one of those old folks we're always learning about in school, with those huge wigs and–"

"Okay, okay I get it. Never mind about that! Would you please stay in this dimension for a little while? The tickets say that the train leaves at 11 o' clock and its already 5 till! How are we going to find seats? We don't know anyone! We don't know the proper order of anything! What if we sit in someone else's compartment? And even if we do find a compartment, how are we going to get these trunks up on the rack! And what if–"

"Whoa. Calm down. Back up. Everything's going to be okay, Mr. Panic." He glared at me. I continued, without any regard to this, "We are going to find someone to sit with. We are going to find a compartment. We are going to be social and ask someone to help us. Everything is going to be good unless I say otherwise."

"Yes ma'am." But of course he started to hyperventilate.

"Do you need your inhaler?" After he lost the first six, we decided I should keep it.

"Wizards do not need inhalers!" He stuck to most ridiculous pose, as if he was receiving a prestigious award. I'm sure it was meant to be very noble, but it was downright absurd.

"Eleven years old wizards with no training and asthma do," I muttered as I dug it out of my jeans pocket.

He gave me a scandalized, indignant look, like a puppy that was caught stealing cookies, but used it. He muttered an almost inaudible, "Thanks."

"Well, now that you've decided to calm down, let's focus on the task at hand. First, we are going to actually be social and-"

"Social?! We've never been social before!" He was looking at me like I had just suggested we jump off a cliff without a parachute. Geez, it wasn't that big of a deal.

"No," I corrected. "You've never been social before. I've at least tried. It's not my fault the other kids thought you were strange."

"Oh, so they just thought I was strange then?"

Ugh, we didn't have time for this. If we were back at the orphanage and arguing with nothing better to do, maybe I would fight back, but not now with this time crunch. As exasperating as he was, Orphiucus did have a point.

"Yes, we are going to be social and ask one of the families to help us get the trunks in a compartment that we will find and, gasp, maybe even try to make friends."

"Oh…that makes sense…but you don't have to be so sarcastic." He gave me another hurt puppy look. "And here I thought you were going to be social for no reason."

I responded, "Look if we're going to be shut up in a strange school until June, we might as well make friends. So that we would have someone else to talk to besides each other. Not that our conversations aren't…interesting, but it might be nice to have some diversity. I don't want to just be known as the weird twins who don't talk to anyone else, do you?"

"Ok, ok, I get it. I guess it wouldn't hurt us to meet new people."

Finally, he was seeing some sense. "Good, now let's go find someone to talk to." I looked around, searching for someone who seemed to know what they were doing in this mess of chaos.

There were so many people, all crowded into this one little place. Parents were wishing their children goodbye, older students reassured younger siblings that they can go in a couple years. I decided to find the family that we followed through the barrier: the mother and daughter with long, dirty blonde hair. They seemed different, but then again, so were we, so I wasn't going to judge them.

"How about that mother and daughter we followed through the barrier?" I asked. "They seemed nice and knew what they were doing."

"Nice – but weird." Orphiucus looked doubtful.

"Oh, yes because we aren't weird too." What can I say? Sarcasm is my native language.

"Point taken…Okay, where are they?"

"Over here," I responded. "They aren't that hard to find."

We hurried over, as we were pressed for time. They stood together, the girl already in her school robes, obviously no older than us. As we approached, we could hear them talking.

"Now remember to watch out for Nargles and do you remember how I showed you to ward off Wrackspurts?" the mother asked.

The girl sounded halfway between amused and annoyed. "Yes, Mum."

"And you packed the Gurdyroots?"

"Yes, Mum." She sounded irritated by now.

The mother continued, oblivious to her daughter's obvious exasperation. "And if you spot any sign of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, you'll be sure to write, okay?"

"Mum! I know!"

I didn't want to just jump right in, as this was obviously a mother/daughter thing, but we did need help. "Excuse me, but my brother and I and new and we need help getting our trunks in a compartment. I'm really sorry, but we followed you through the barrier and thought that maybe you would help us?" I phrased the last sentence as a question, leaving them open to say that they couldn't.

"Oh, brilliant!" the mother answered. "We can all help each other. By the way, I'm Ms. Lovegood, and this is my daughter, Eva."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, good. Thank you so much. Oh, and I'm Libra and this is Orphiucus. I'm so glad to meet you. We're brand new at this – didn't even know what we could do was magic until about a month ago."

And of course, Orphiucus had to but in. "Are you going to let me say anything today, Libby?"

"Oh, come on, let's just get moving. We can argue later."

The girl, Eva, spoke up. "Here, I know some people who can help us get the trunks onto the racks. I don't think any of us would be able to! We can find the compartment with them too, so that'll all work out. Come on, I'll introduce you."

Before I could say anything, Orphi interrupted and said, "That'd be great, thanks," and looked at me as though challenging me to say something. I shrugged, giving him the point, but letting him know it's not over yet. Sibling rivalry is even stronger for twins.

We hurried over. (Yes, Orphi, we did do a lot of hurrying that day. No, that does not mean it was okay that you panicked.) I saw that Eva was leading us towards the family I saw before – the one with the dark-haired, green-eyed boy. Now I saw that he had an older brother and a younger sister. They didn't all look exactly alike, but there were enough similarities that I could tell they were related. There were other kids too; they didn't seem like siblings, but maybe cousins or friends. They seemed to be saying something, but Eva cut in.

"Hey guys, how're you doing? Hey, we need some help finding a compartment and getting these trunks on the racks. Think you could help us?"

A chorus of voices answered her.

"Yeah, sure thing."

"Absolutely."

"No problem."

"Hey, Eva, who are these kids?"

Orphiucus and I were hanging back, shy (yes, Orphi, that was a first for me. Now go away and stop reading over my shoulder!); everyone seemed to know each other but us.

"Oh, this is Libra and Orphiucus…" She trailed off, not knowing our surname.

"Erepto," Orphi supplied. "Libra and Orphiucus Erepto. We're new to this, and Eva kindly agreed to help us out.

The oldest boy, I would place him to be about 14 maybe 15 or so, asked, "Oh, so are you-?"

"James!" A woman cut in that I could guess was his mother – they had the same exact eyes – interrupted his question. "Do you want the train to leave without you?"

"I have time, it's only…10:58!" he exclaimed as he realized the time. 'We've got to get on the train!"

The train whistle blew, signaling the last call for boarding. In one moment, all 6 of us looked at each other and ran for the nearest door, our trunks bumping along behind us. We all tried to get on at the same time. The result: a big pile of jumbled up kids and suitcases on the stairs. We picked ourselves up and headed for a compartment.

As we pushed through the mass of kids, the others, who clearly knew a lot of people in this world, were calling out to their friends. James seemed to know more people than the rest of them, but at least they seemed comfortable in the situation unlike someone I knew.

Orphi asked, "You still going strong on this social thing?"

I gave him a Look. (I'm quite brilliant at those). "Yes, now come on, or we will lose the only people who were actually nice to us. You know, it would be useful to actually get to know people who are used to all of this. So that, oh, I don't know, maybe we can get used to all of this?"

He looked hurt. Maybe I should take it easy on him for a little while. After all, he responds to uncertainty with, well, uncertainty. I, on the other hand, tend to take it by the horns and beat it.

"Oh, come on, we can argue later. Let's just catch up to them and find a place to sit and put the trunks. Unless you'd rather stand the whole ride of course…"

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

We rushed to catch up with them. Eva was saying, "Blimey it's packed. Here's an empty compartment, let's go in."

We went in right as the train was pulling out of the station. The kids pulled down the window and waved goodbye to their parents. Orphiucus and I stood in the doorway, looking awkward. We had no one to wave goodbye to. The train pulled out of the station and the ones who actually had parents closed to window.

The oldest boy – I think his name was James – said, "Well, we'd better get these trunks up."

We hauled them up onto the racks, pushing and sweating the whole time. At least twice the trunks slipped; I thought they were going to brain me! Just as we thought they were up, the last one slipped off and landed on James' foot.

"Bloody hell! Merlin's pants that hurt!" he continued to let out a stream of very rude and creative words at the trunk.

"Um, James?" The girl whose name I didn't know yet cut in. "it's a trunk. It can't hear you."

I was thinking the same thing.

"Uh…right." He paused in mid-rant. "Thanks, Rose."

Rose. So now I knew all the names but one. I didn't know the green-eyed boy's name, James' brother. I knew the blonde girl was Eva, the other was Ruth, and the oldest boy was James. Great, so now I had one more name to get and hours of awkward silence.

Then the younger boy piped up. "So, where are you guys from?" he looked at us expectantly. "Are you Muggle-born?"

I had no idea what he was talking about. "Umm…what?"

"Muggle-born. It means you have non-magic parents."

Uh oh. Parents talk. This means awkwardness. I let Orphi take it. I nudged him and he said, "We don't actually know. We lived in an orphanage pretty much our whole lives. We don't know anything about our family. So probably, but we really don't know."

The boy looked shocked, just like everyone always does when the first learn about it. Honestly, I was so bored with it. It was just how it was; nothing anyone could do would change that. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry.'

I waved his apology aside. "It doesn't matter, we're used to it. So what about your families? We noticed that you all seem to know a lot of people. Is that common when you have magical parents? How do you all know each other? And what are your families like?" I noticed I had been talking too much and hadn't given them time to answer any questions. That seems to happen a lot with me. Oops.

The younger kids all looked at James, making it clear that since he was the oldest, he should answer. "It's really complicated. Basically, our parents knew each other when they were kids. Eva's mum is a friend of our parents. Albus and I are brothers and we have a younger sister, Lily. She can't wait to come to Hogwarts, too. Rose is our cousin and she has a younger brother, Hugo. Her father and our mother are siblings. That's pretty much it on family relationships, but we do have this kinda brother who's dating one of our cousins, so that will be a bit weird."

The boy, Albus, replied sarcastically, "Yeah, like that's the weirdest thing about our family."

I was perplexed. "What do you mean?"

"Well…let's just say we have some pretty big legacies to live up to." Everyone laughed.

Eva took one look at our faces though, and cried, "Oh, I'm so sorry! I know this is confusing for you. I mean, it's confusing for us, and we grew up with it! Well, not me so much, but definitely for Al and James."

"Why?" Orphiucus of course had to dig into other people's business when it was fairly obvious that it was a touchy subject for them.

James yawned. "Well, I'm off to find Fred and Kate. I promised Mum I'd help you get a compartment and I did. So have fun, you lot."

Rose giggled. 'Hey James, remember that if Kate and (French Guy) are…busy, be sure to leave them alone."

"Aunt Hermione really drilled that into your head didn't she? Well, I'll be sure not to tease them…too much." And with that, he walked out.

There was a silence in the compartment that was as cold as ice. I decided to break it. "So…is this all of yours first time at Hogwarts?"

Albus replied, "Yep, first time. So of course James is scaring us about it. The usual of 'watch out for thestrals' and myths about the Sorting. He keeps going on an escaping a dungeon when my dad told me it's just a hat."

I literally did not understand a single word of that. Except for the obvious one's like 'dungeon' and 'hat'. (And yes, Orphi, I know words like 'the' and 'and'. Didn't I tell you to go away?) "Um, I'm sorry but what? You lost me back by when James was scaring you."

"Well, thestrals are like invisible horses that fly. And the Sorting is when they sort you into Houses." Yeah, like that explained it.

"Albus!" Rose chided. "They don't know what Houses are. Honestly, you are so tactless." She turned to us. "I'm sorry about him. He really does a poor job explaining things."

I muttered, "Yep, somehow I got that."

Rose laughed and said, "Well, anyways, when you first arrive at school, you get sorted into a House. It's kind of like a class. Each house has kids in the seven years and each year of each House has about six girls and six guys. The Houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. You get Sorted based on your personalities, abilities, and, at least according to Uncle Harry, your choices."

I was horrified. "So, they separate us before we even start school?!"

Albus, Rose, and Eva looked at each other, clearly not having thought about it that way before.

Eva responded, "Well, I guess if you think about it that way, then yes. But really it's just like a putting us into classes. But instead of doing it randomly, like at Muggle schools, they do it by the abilities and personality of that person."

I still didn't like it, but decided to let the matter pass. "So what do your parents do?" I was curious about what wizards did for a living.

Eva replied, "My mum is kind of like the magical equivalent of an archeologist, I guess. She goes all over the world searching for signs of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Nargles and those types of things that most wizards don't even believe exist. Honestly, I think it's a bit strange, but she's my mum, and I still love her."

"Crumple-Horned what?" Orphi looked absolutely baffled. I would have laughed except for that fact that I was feeling the same way.

Eva looked embarrassed. "I know. It's a strange obsession of hers, but my granddad is really proud of her. Personally, most of the time it seems really far-fetched but sometimes the evidence does point to their existence."

"Um, well, ok then." I tried to be as diplomatic as possible, but it was absolutely a ridiculous job. Then I remembered something. "You mentioned your mum, what about your dad?"

Eva seemed hesitant. She looked down at her lap and seemed very interested in a bracelet she was wearing, apparently made of bottle caps.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," I said hurriedly. "I completely understand about personal subjects."

She took a deep breath. "No, you told me about your situation. At any rate, if we're going to be friends, you should know. I don't want to be lying to you all the time." She set her jaw, resolved. "Well, my dad was a Muggle my mom fell in love with when she was in Egypt searching for signs of the Wobble-Tailed Blubbery. He was an archaeologist searching for ancient tombs." She started to speak faster, and I couldn't tell if she wanted to get it over with or if she needed to let it out or if she was just on a role. "Well, she kind of saved his life when he got into the wrong tomb and aroused a curse meant for tomb robbers. They fell in love, but she didn't tell him about what she was until she was pregnant with me." She slowed down, like she was hesitant again, but seemed determined to tell the whole story. "He…he…he left her, and me, before I was born. I never knew him. My mom has pictures, but she won't tell me where he is or even his name. She insists she knows, but she won't tell me until 'the time is right.'"

I was stunned. If anyone could understand Orphiucus and my situation, it was Eva. She so readily told us too. "I…I really don't know what to say. Sorry seems so inadequate, and it doesn't do anything."

She gave a sad sort of smile. "That's ok," she said. "Really, I'm fine. Like you said, if you're used to it, it doesn't matter much anymore."

Now, I knew from experience that this was not true at all. Being used to it doesn't help. It still hurts, you still feel lost and confused and betrayed. But I also knew from experience that it was time to change the subject away from her family.

"Um, what about the rest of you?" I asked.

Rose replied, "Well, my dad is actually a counselor. He specializes in couples. Sometimes he's been able to help them pull through the brink of disaster. He says it's because he's had a lot of disasters himself. My mom works for the Ministry of Magic. She's in the Department of Magical Creatures, House Elf office. She tries to get house elves sick leave and pensions and payment and stuff. Honestly, they don't want it, well except for a strange few, but she's determined. She even wants a house elf representative on the Committee of Magical Creatures.

Okay, now I was really confused.

"The Ministry of Magic?" I asked. "Blimey, I wished I had gotten a crash course, like a Magic 101 thing."

Albus laughed. "You're funny! But, yes, there's a Ministry of Magic. They run the wizarding world. It's a pretty big organization – they monitor everything from dragon population to cauldron thickness. So, lots of departments. My parents are both Aurors – Dark wizard catchers."

"Oh, fun," Orphiucus muttered. "Now there are Dark wizards. That's just what we need."

"Don't worry," Eva counseled. "There are hardly any left in Britain. It was much worse about 20 years ago."

Orphi and I exchanged looks. I asked, "Why? What happened nearly 20 years ago?"

Just then the compartment door opened. It was a plump witch with a kind face, pushing a trolley loaded with every kind of sweet you could possibly imagine, except the regular kind. Instead the cart was piled sky high with Chocolate Frogs, Caldron Cakes, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Licorice Wands, Pumpkin Pasties, and loads more. I had no idea what any of those were, but it didn't matter at any rate. I had no money, and neither did Orphi. We had never had money in our lives. We were grateful that the school had a scholarship fund for those in our situation. Sometimes, it absolutely stinks, being an orphan.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" the witch asked kindly.

Albus, Rose, and Eva clamored to the door, clearly familiar with the sweets, knowing exactly what they wanted. Eva turned to us.

"You guys want anything?" she asked.

I was going to let Orphi take this one again, but he turned bright pink and was pretending like he needed to sneeze, so I sighed and said awkwardly, "Thanks, but we don't have any money."

Eva replied, "Oh, come on. Get whatever you want. It's on me."

We stammered our thanks and asked what she thought we should get, because we didn't know what was good.

"Well, it's all good," she answered. "But seeing as it's your first time, I'll get some of everything and you can see what you like."

She grabbed the lot and set it on the vacant seats.

"Come on," she said to the others. "There's no way only the three of us can eat all of this! Al, Rose, take as much as you want!"

"Well," Albus replied. "Don't mind if I do."

We all dug in and the talk turned to families and up-bringings again.

"So," Albus asked through a mouthful of chocolate, "how did you find out you were a with and wizard."

"Albus!" Rose chided. "Don't talk with your mouth full. You'll have to excuse him, his older brother is his biggest role model." The last remark was directed at us.

"Is not!" Albus retorted.

She gave him a look that clearly said that he was just reinforcing her argument. I could relate. Boys often try to hold themselves up but just end up taking themselves down.

Nevertheless, I answered Albus. "Bought the same as most Muggle-borns, I'd guess. We got our letters and used the scholarship fund. We've gotten used to doing things on our own by now, and the orphanage was pretty close to Diagon Alley, so we walked there and followed someone in." I felt bad lying to them, but Professor Mathieson told us not to tell anyone that she came to tell us.

"Oh, so Hagrid didn't come and get you?" Rose asked.

"Hagrid?" Orphiucus asked, confused. "Who's Hagrid?"

"Oh, Hagrid's the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures professor. He generally goes and gives the Muggle-borns the Magic 101 class that you wanted, Libra," Eva explained.

"I suppose that seeing as they were in a place filled with Muggles, Hagrid couldn't go," Rose mused. "After all, we do have to maintain the Statue of Secrecy."

"Why? What's up with him that would give it away?" I inquired.

Albus answered, "He's…different. You'll see for yourself when we get to Hogwarts. Normally he goes and tells the family, but he can't very well tell the entire orphanage. By the way, what did you tell them?"

I answered hesitantly, "They had a letter sent to them…"

"Telling them that we had been accepted into a special boarding school," Orphi concluded. Thank goodness he is able to lie on the spot. "We have to go back in the summer, but at least we get a couple of months away from it all."

"So do you have any friends there?" Eva asked. "I don't mean to pry, but your life is as strange to us as ours is to you."

Ok, this was awkward again. Well, might as well get it all over with. "No, we didn't have any friends," I answered, trying to be nonchalant. "The other kids either hated us because we were too 'strange' or were afraid of those who did hate us. Once in a while a new kid came along who didn't mind us, but that never lasted. Sometimes they were adopted, but mostly, they learned to be afraid of the others." And here we go again with the sympathies. I really hate those. There's nothing anyone can do about it, except maybe kill Darren Mannings, something I had wanted to do since the second week he was there, so why bother wasting the time apologizing for things that were out of our control? The only thing to do was move on, get over it, get on with your life. Sulking and whining about what a tragedy your life is does not help. Trust me, I know from experience.

"Oh my god," Eva said in a small voice. "I had no idea. I mean, I've been in pretty sad situations, with my dad gone and all, but I've always had friends. I have no idea what it would be like without these guys." She gestured to Albus and Rose. "I'm really sorry for even asking."

Ugh. Like I had expected, there were the sympathies. True, Eva might have been a bit more understanding about the whole parent thing, but she didn't get the whole –yes-we're-on-our-own-but-we're-used-to-it-and-not hing-you-can-say-would-help thing. By this time, I was pretty fed up with it all. I get that people are just trying to make us feel better, but honestly, what I just really want is to move on and actually start doing things other than focusing on all the bad stuff that's happened in life. That won't help anyone. So, yeah, I was a little fed up.

So was Orphiucus. He didn't say anything, but after him being pretty much the only person I hung out with for the past 11 years, I'd gotten pretty good at reading his aura. He said, trying not to sound exasperated, "We're not really alone. We'll always have each other. And at any rate, I can always find new friends anywhere I go. After all, 'Social' is my middle name."

I glared at him, though secretly relieved that he had semi-changed the subject, and everyone laughed.

And then the compartment door opened again.

And it wasn't the trolley lady.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Libra

It was a girl. She had dark, wavy hair, very unlike my matted, crazy, tangles of black. It wasn't quite black; it had more color, more brown, so that it was really quite beautiful, and I was a little envious. Her hair cascaded down her back in gentle waves, like a waterfall churned up in the wind. But her most prominent feature were her eyes, voluminous and purple. Literally, purple. I'd seen deep blue, but never before had I seen purple eyes. I thought that in a different situation, she would be rather pretty, what with her hair and eyes. But instead, she was doubled over in pain, as if someone just punched her in the stomach, and her eyes swam with tears of pain and anger. I remembered her from the platform: the purple eyes were a very memorable feature. They seemed to hold much intelligent in them, but at the moment, all they conveyed was pain and even maybe confusion, as if she didn't understand what was going on. And then only a moment later, we found the reason why.

In strutted the blonde boy I had seen on the platform, just as haughty and proud as before, but this time, he was wearing a look of complete disgust and revulsion on his face. He looked like he had just stepped in something foul. Contrasting, he seemed to be reveling in the power he held over the two cronies that stepped through the door right after him, as well as the pain he was causing to the poor girl. He strutted in and didn't even look at us; clearly we were below his notice. I guess he came into our compartment so as to not draw as much attention. Maybe he was so used to ignoring people that he didn't even notice that _Oh, hey, there are people in this compartment. Oops._

He sneered, "Had enough, have you, you filthy little Mudblood? You should go home right now. Why did you even set foot on this train? Everyone here hates you. You don't belong here, you piece of scum. You belong back in the pigsty, shoveling muck for the rest of your feeble, insignificant, Mudblood life." He laughed, but it was a harsh, cruel laugh with no really humor.

Albus, Rose, and Eva all stood at once. I didn't know what the boy meant, but I could tell that it wasn't good based on the others' reactions. Eva looked murderous for one so friendly and peaceful. She started shrieking, "How dare you! After everything that happened before, how could you start up the old prejudices again?! After all our parents forked for, even yours?! You are a vile, twisted…" she kept going, getting angrier and more hysterical, her voice rising in pitch and volume. Rose actually leaped forward with the most fierce, most revengeful look on her face. She probably would have starting beating the heck out of the blonde boy if I didn't hold her back. She fought me, and I thought that her strength might be too much for me.

"Help me," I ordered Orphiucus. He instantly understood and leapt forward. He grabbed the back of her robes and together we were able to restrain her.

Then Albus said calmly and measured, "I don't care who you think you are, but get out now."

"No, I don't think I will," the boy drawled. "See, I'm teaching this filthy Mudblood a lesson. You should thank me; I'm trying to rid the castle of filth such as this."

He kicked the girl, and she gave a sharp intake of breath, but didn't cry out. That just made me even angrier. How could this total jerk be picking on this girl who was obviously much braver and tougher than he? But I'm no stranger to bullies; this is how they operate.

"Besides," he continued. "Just because your daddy is all famous and Mr. High and Mighty doesn't mean you can just boss everyone around. After all, not everyone worshipped the great Harry Potter. Some of us liked that Dark Lord and what he stood for."

Now, I still had no idea what he was talking about (I think that he was somehow both insulting Albus's dad), but he was giving off an air of creepiness. Also, the temperature in the compartment had reached a boiling point, so I decided it was time to step in.

I muttered to Orphiucus, "Can you hold her?"

"I think so," he answered. "Just get him out of here, Libby."

He knew me so well.

"Look," I cut in. I let go of Rose and stepped forward. "I don't know who the hell you are, but frankly, I don't care. All I know is that you are the one bullying this poor girl and making everyone else furious. So I am asking as nicely as I can for you to get out. Now."

The blonde kid looked at me, then taunted Albus, "Found a new pet, have you Potter? Another Mudblood like this one, I suppose."

Albus just glared, shooting daggers from his eyes, seemingly too mad for words.

But of course, Blondie here wasn't done. "Well, I'll tell you what, girl. I don't know why you joined these losers, but–"

And of course, I cut him off. (I am rather brilliant at that.) "We joined them because they were actually nice to us. Just a small hint: if you want people to like you, step one would be not kicking them and step two would be not insulting them." He tried to cut in, but I was on a roll, and no one can stop me when I'm on a roll. "Now for the third time, get out of our compartment, blonde boy."

"First off," the boy said, "the name's Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy. And secondly, who are you to tell me to get out? I suppose you're another Mudblood, seeing as I don't know who you are, and you don't sound foreign."

Now, I was mad. He still wasn't getting out and I had told him three times. "I'm Libra Erepto, I don't know what you're talking about, but if you value your fertility, you're going to leave now, before we have to force you out."

He looked wary, though trying not to. "Oh you will, wont you?" he was trying to sound fierce and formidable, but his voice wavered. "Well, let's leave the Mudbloods and Mudwallowers together, shall we boys? Come on, they are unworthy of our notice." And he strutted out, with his two thugs following closely behind. The door swung shut.

Ok, so now that threat was gone, I turned my attention to the girl on the floor. So did Eva and Orphiucus, though Rose was shaking and Albus seemed frozen in shock and anger. Rose seemed to shake herself out of her anger and awoke to see the girl on the floor, still crouched in the fetal position. She was cringing, as though she was bracing herself for another hit.

Rose crouched down beside her, saying, "Oh, I'm so mad I could just pound the pulp out of that little toerag. Dad was right, the whole family's twisted."

"Oh, really?" Eva muttered sarcastically. "We didn't notice. We were too busy holding you back so you wouldn't go after him." I have to say, I was quite proud of her. I didn't know that sweet little Eva had it in her to be sarcastic. "But what are we going to do about her?" She gestured to the girl.

"I don't know," I said, kneeling down next to the girl as well. "Hey, it's ok," I told her, as one might talk to a wounded animal. "Those cretins are gone. You're safe with us."

She slowly unrolled herself. She looked around warily and, sensing no danger, slowly stood up.

Eva looked concerned. "Are you ok?"

The girl nodded. "Yeah, I think so." She rolled out her joints, making sure that everything was still working. She winced and pressed her hand to her ribs. "Ah, that hurts." She rubbed her side, checking for breaks. "Bruised, maybe, but nothing seems broken," she said.

Her accent was strange. I've heard all sorts of people from all over England and America (London is a big tourist center), but hers didn't quite sound like any one I'd heard. The closest I could pinpoint it to was American. But why would an American be going to a school in England? I would assume they'd have magical schools out there.

"Why were they going after you?" my ever-so-socially-conscious brother asked. He really has no concept of what might be a touchy subject for people. (And no comment from you, Orphi.)

"I…I don't really know," answered the girl. "Apparently they saw me on the platform with my parents. I don't know how, but somehow they knew that my parents are non-magical. The blonde boy kept calling me something. I couldn't quite hear him through the blood pounding in my ears, but it sounded like 'Mudblood.' I don't know what it means, but I got the feeling it was pretty insulting."

Rose made a noise like an angry cat, and Albus muttered, "It is. It's the most insulting thing that slime could think of."

The girl continued, "And his little minions just kept hitting me. I don't even know why they hate me so much." She pressed her hand to her ribs again, grimacing from the pain. She looked at all of us in such a way that made me feel so proud and ashamed all at once: proud that I helped her, ashamed that she needed help. The girl looked at Eva, Rose, and Albus, noticing that their expressions were both somber and furious.

She said, realizing that they evidently knew why the blonde boy and his thugs were going after her, "You know why, don't you? You know why they hate me so much."

Rose looked murderous, and Eva was close to tears.

Albus was the one who answered. "Well…" he said, drawing out the word like he was reluctant to continue, "…you see…there are certain wizarding family who care more about your blood, your ancestry, than your personality or abilities. They only care about the so-called 'purity of blood.' They think witches and wizards of Muggle parents–"

"Muggles?" the girl asked.

Eva answered, "Non-magic people."

The girl nodded her thanks as Albus continued, "So essentially…"

"They don't like me because I'm Muggle-born," the girl concluded, making it a statement, not a question.

Eva answered anyways, sighing in reluctance and maybe even forced acceptance, "Yes."

Rose interjected, "Which is completely wrong! Muggle-borns can be just as magical as pure bloods! It has nothing to do with your ancestry. My own mother's a Muggle-born, and she's the cleverest witch I know. But that doesn't mean people like that scum," she waved her hands towards the compartment door, "won't be complete…" she paused, as if she wanted to say a word but stopped herself, "…jerks…about it."

I started to get worried. From what it sounded like, there were more people than just that blonde boy who cared about the whole "purity of the blood" thing. I wondered what those kids would think of a set orphaned twins raised in a Muggle orphanage that didn't know their parentage.

_Oh well, _I thought,_ I suppose after all I've endured at the orphanage, I can endure more taunts. At any rate, Orphiucus and I can hold them off. I hope._

Eva asked, "Why don't you sit down? You can just stay here with us."

The girl blinked. "Thanks. But what about my trunk?"

"Don't worry," Albus answered. "We leave them on the train at any rate. It will be sent to your dormitory."

"Ok, well, thanks then. Guess I'll hang with you guys," the girl replied. "I was sitting by myself previously."

"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" Eva said. "Say, what's your name?"

"Oh, I'm Olivia. Olivia Amien," she answered. "Who are you?"

Eva answered for all of us. "I'm Eva Lovegood, that's Albus Potter, Rose Weasley," Rose gave a little wave and Eva continues, "And Libra and Orphiucus Erepto."

Olivia looked at each of us, like she was memorizing our faces and names. "So how do you all know each other?" she asked.

This time it was Rose that answered. She gave Olivia the condensed version. "Albus and I are cousins. Eva's a family friend. Orphiucus and Libra are twins. We met them on the platform, and Eva decided to help them out."

"So are you and Or…Orphuci…your brother Muggle-born too?" Olivia asked me.

(It's not my fault your name is impossible to pronounce! You should give her points just for trying.)

"You can call him Orphi. That's what I do," I said, smirking.

Of course then he shot me a look like, "I'll get you for that."

I continued, "We don't know. We grew up in an orphanage and never knew our parents. So we think so, but aren't really sure."

For once, someone didn't say how sorry they were or offer other condolences. Olivia simply nodded, as if she knew what it was like. Like she knew that there was nothing anyone could do but make the best of things and apologizing for something one had no control over did no good and just wasted time. I was wondering how she could understand our situation – she said she was with her parents on the platform – but then she said, "I understand what it's like to be abandoned. I'm adopted. I see my birth mother once in a while, but it's never a happy trip. She and my father were kids in high school and made a mistake. So she doesn't love me and I don't even know who my birth father is. It's like I don't even have birth parents." Olivia said all this with almost no emotion in her voice, no sorrow or regret, just acceptance and strength. She continued with a small chuckle, like if she didn't laugh she'd cry, and said, "I just glad that blonde boy doesn't know I'm illegitimate. I have two sets of Muggle parents, who would believe it?! I'd be a double Mudblood in his eyes, maybe even worse, being a bastard child."

Her life seemed so much sadder and hard than mine. At least Orphiucus and I didn't know anything; our parents could have loved us and died or something. But to know that you were a mistake, that your parents didn't love you or even care about you is awful. Of course, my parents are probably exactly the same, but it's nice to be able to fantasize that they loved my brother and me and didn't want to give us up. One has to have something to dream about. Some beautiful thought, idea, or memory that lulls you to sleep at night. I had hope. I had a chance, no matter how small. Olivia didn't. She knew for certain that she was an accident, that her own mother gave her up and didn't want her back. I had never felt that bad for myself, but I had never felt sympathetic towards others, thinking they couldn't possibly know what a rough life is. Now I was feeling sympathy for this small violet-eyed girl who I had known for all of ten minutes.

I couldn't stop wanting to say something to make it all better. But I knew from experience there was nothing I could say. I couldn't stop thinking about how cruel life had been to this girl who was my age, around 11. I couldn't stop thinking about what that blonde boy, Malfoy, would do if he found out she not only had two sets of Muggle parents, but was illegitimate as well. It made my entire life, all of its hardships and troubles, pale in comparison.

"So, Olivia," Eva began.

Please, call me Liv," she interrupted. "That's what my friends call me."

Eva beamed at being called Liv's friend. I myself was stunned. Apparently I had made friends, which was a first for me. Well unless you count that librarian, but she's an adult and is just nice to anyone that will talk to her. Me making friends was a stranger concept than being a witch! I was on a role: being social without people running away screaming (long story), making friends, even just being able to be in the same room as other people without them leaving because Orphiucus and I were too "weird" or "odd." At this rate, I'd be ready to climb Mt. Everest by the weeks' end.

Eva continued, "Liv, then, where are you from? Your accent is different than any I've heard. Are you American?"

I was also curious and had been about to ask Liv when Eva did.

Liv said, "Yes, I'm American. I lived there until I was 10."

I asked, curious, "Why are you going to school here then?"

"It's a bit of a long story," she said.

"We've got time."

She took a deep breath and began:

"Well, like I said, I know what it feels like to be abandoned. And I also know what it's like to be different. I take it the kids at the orphanage stay away from you two, think you're creepy and strange?"

I nodded as she continued.

"But not until you were about seven, right?"

"Yeah. So? We just figured it's because we grew up, and they started to see us as not just little kids."

"Well, the same thing happened to me. When I was about seven, strange things started happening. Things I can't explain. There were some kids who didn't like me because I'm a bastard child, and whenever they were chasing me or taunting me, something would happen. Something I couldn't understand. Like one of them tried to shove me in a locker, but the locker just kept getting smaller and smaller until it might have fit a doll in it, but not me. Another tried to make me do all his homework, tied me down to a desk and everything, when suddenly, it was he tied down to a desk. The ropes holding me were unknotted and the homework was completed with…well, clearly not the right answers.

"And it didn't just happen with the kids. One time, during one of the 'visitations' with my birth mother, we got in a big fight, which was a common occurrence, and suddenly I was back home.

"It kept happening, whenever I was mad or afraid, something strange would happen. I thought I was going crazy. These strange things kept happening, and I knew they were connected to me, but at the time I didn't know what was happening."

Albus said, "Those were magic bursts. They happen to all witches and wizards as they start developing their powers."

Liv nodded. "Well, people started to notice. Instead of calling me a bastard child they'd call me a devil child. Even the teachers noticed something strange. I heard some of them talking one day, and at least one of them thought I was a witch or evil enchantress. Which I suppose they were right, in a way.

"But I just couldn't take it anymore. So when my dad got a job offer in London, he took it. And so here I am."

"So," Albus said. "You're American. But I've met Americans. They have different accents than yours."

"Oh, I lived in the Bronx and–"

"Wait," Rose cut in. "The Bronx as in the New York Bronx?"

"Born and raised 'til I was ten."

Rose stared wide-eyed. "Wow…sorry, go on."

"Well, yeah. So I'm from the Bronx and we speak differently from the rest of the United States. Though After living outside of London for a year, my mom says I'm starting to sound a bit more British."

"So, did you ever get into a street fight?" asked Orphiucus eagerly. "Like with guns and–"

I cut him off before he could really insult someone. "Orphi! You don't ask people stuff like that!"

"I thought we were trying to be social. Doesn't that mean trying to get to know people?"

"Get to know them, yes," I hissed. "But there's a difference between 'getting to know' people and being completely nosy!"

"Oh…well…ok then." His face was bright red from embarrassment. He just turned around and stared out the window, hoping no one would notice him.

There was dead silence.

And then peals of laughter filled the compartment.

It was Liv. She was laughing so hard tears were running down her face. Her laughter was the most beautiful, joyous thing I had ever heard, like clear bells. Just hearing and watching her made me laugh. And Eva. And Rose. And Albus. Even Orphiucus stared laughing. Soon the whole compartment was ringing with laughter.

As Eva's last giggles faded away, Liv asked, smiling, "So, are you two always like that?"

"Pretty much."

"Like what?"

We answered at the same time.

I glared at Orphi. "'Like what?'" As if he didn't already know.

Liv looked at us and grinned. "Well, I'm betting life will never be dull around you two."

Looking back, I think she got a little more than what she asked for.


End file.
